dawn on

Idioms  

1. Also, dawn upon. Become evident or understood, as in It finally dawned on him that he was expected to call them, or Around noon it dawned upon me that I had never eaten breakfast. This expression transfers the beginning of daylight to the beginning of a thought process. Harriet Beecher Stowe had it in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852): “The idea that they had either feelings or rights had never dawned upon her.” [Mid-1800s]

---

Example Sentences

On any given day, you can spot Dawn on her bike, sometimes not even pedaling, but being pulled by her neighbor’s big dog that she is "walking."

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2024

I’ve worked with Harry and Dawn on another play before and I just loved it.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2022

The painting depicts the goddess Aurora, or Dawn, on her chariot.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2022

Corona always has a backup bottle of Dawn on hand, though, which she uses for stains and other cleaning emergencies.

From Washington Post • Sep. 30, 2021

Here is clearly a Sun-myth, which is like those of ancient Hindu and Greek legend: the blue-grey Filly is the Dawn, on which the new day, the maiden and her lover, speed away.

From Fairy Tales; Their Origin and Meaning With Some Account of Dwellers in Fairyland by Bunce, John Thackray

Related Words

• affect
• carry
• get
• hit
• move
• reach
• touch